MBA Water Management, an interview with four international MBA students

Our International Action Learning MBA students started their 9-day conference in the Netherlands which gave us the wonderful opportunity to speak to the four of them, who are all majoring in Water Management.

We spoke with Chisonge Sylvester Mwape who works as a Marketing Officer for the Lusaka Water & Sewerage Company in Zambia. His task is to inform the local population about using the available water wisely and to persuade them to keep the water supply free of pollution. We also spoke with two ladies of the Department of Water and Sanitation from South Africa; Bongiwe Msane is a Director and Fundiswa Olivia Kula an IT Enterprise Architect. Their department must ensure that the citizens of South Africa have access to sufficient resources of good quality water. Lastly, we spoke to Lesego Kgaogelo Lekubu, Programme Manager: Water for the city of Tshwane, South Africa.

Why did you want to do an MBA in Water Management?
Fundiswa: “I always wanted to do my Masters. I have a degree in Information Technology and I want to broaden my horizon. I did not want to specialise any further.”
Chisonge: “I have a Bachelor’s in Marketing. I wanted to do an MBA and when I saw the MBA in Water Management, this was the perfect combination for me. It gives extra added value to the company I am working for. Also, the MBA will help me with my personal ambitions as a small business owner.”
Bongiwe: “I am a lawyer and I want to continue to grow. I was looking for a degree where I can maximise my contribution to the community. Also I want my children to feel proud of their mom.”
Lesego: “Knowledge is power, nobody can take it away from you. I want to up-skill myself and continue to learn how to improve a situation. I want to learn how to implement great solutions.”

Why did you choose Business School Netherlands?
They all liked the unique Action Learning concept. They want to implement what they have learned in their own company straight away. It also helped to ‘sell’ the MBA to their organisations. It really focuses on your skill to solve real-time problems in an innovative way. They also like the fact that you must reflect after each lesson: how did it go, what can you learn for next time.
Bongiwe: “For example, we learned about marketing. I realised that our department is not well-known to the public. We have to work on that, and we will!”
Fundiswa: “Other MBA’s have a lot of group assignments where you have to meet to face-to-face. This is not practical. I like it the way BSN has organised it. We come together now, and we meet online but we can also work on assignments individually. Also, I like the international character. For example, you learn about different cultures and how they deal with the water management in Zambia.”

How did you like the first days?
They have to laugh. Bongiwe “Too much information! The workshop days are long. Luckily, the sun doesn’t go down until late, so you don’t feel like you are studying in the evening.”
Chisonge: “When the professor introduced the topics, I thought ‘Oh no! What have I gotten myself into..’ Now I see it as a challenge.”

What do you think of the Netherlands?
Leseogo: “I like the water canals and transportation; it looks so simple but I know it isn’t. Fundiswa: “I also like the fact that Holland is so safe, I see no fences, children are playing outside. And I like the fact that there are so many farms here.”
Bongiwe: “I like the organic food; it tastes really fresh.”
Lesego ends the discussion with some final thoughts on his perspective on water management. “I think we could look at water more from a business perspective. We can look at water as an important resource that is worth money. We need water for consumption, agriculture and the industry. It is something we could even export.”

After that thought, it was time to make some extra group pictures with our founding father Dick Gerdzen.